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Here is why Muslim votes shifted from KCR’s BRS: Jan Ki Baat founder Pradeep Bhandari explains Telangana results and Congress strategy

अनुपम कुमार सिंह
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Here is why Muslim votes shifted from KCR’s BRS: Jan Ki Baat founder Pradeep Bhandari explains Telangana results and Congress strategy

In the recently concluded assembly elections in five states, the Congress managed to form a government in only one state—Telangana. Securing 64 seats, the Congress has a clear majority and will soon assume power in the state. With this, it will replace the Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which had been in power since the formation of the newly carved state in 2014.

Notably, the BRS changed its name from TRS (Telangana Rashtra Samithi) in December 2022 reflecting the national ambitions of the then CM KCR. However, following the defeat in the state assembly election, Delhi now seems to be a far-off dream for BRS Supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao. 

In the Telangana assembly elections, the Congress emerged as the largest party with 64 seats, surpassing the halfway mark of 60 seats. Consequently, Congress is confident about forming the government in the southern state. In contrast, the outgoing ruling party, BRS, which held power for the last 10 years, has been reduced to 39 seats. The BJP, on the other hand, has seen a notable improvement, increasing its tally from 1 MLA last time to 8 MLAs this time. AIMIM has retained its 7 seats out of the total 8 seats in the Hyderabad region. Goshamahal remains the only seat in the Hyderabad region beyond AIMIM’s influence and has been secured by BJP’s Raja Singh for the third consecutive time, achieving a hat-trick as Goshamahal’s MLA.

The BRS and AIMIM have been contesting elections in Telangana with an understanding. This benefitted BRS as its association with AIMIM has been fetching en mass votes from the Muslim community. This time Owaisi’s party had fielded candidates on 9 seats, while supporting BRS on all the remaining seats. However, this state assembly election saw a major shift. 

Incidentally, while Muslim voters of Hyderabad rallied behind AIMIM, they preferred Congress over the BRS-AIMIM alliance in the rest of the state. Strikingly, Congress secured a vote share of 39.40% while BRS received 37.35% votes share emphasising the impact of this en-mass shift of the Muslim community as a voting bloc.

KCR had promised ‘Muslim IT Park’

Both BRS and Congress left no stone unturned to woo Muslim voters. KCR had even promised that a separate IT park would be built for Muslims. He vowed to voters that if BRS returned to power, it would build an IT park for Muslims in the Pahari Sharif area near Hyderabad. During the election campaign, he accused Congress of considering Muslims only as a vote bank and not doing any work for their development. He also gave a poll promise to increase the reservation for Muslims in education and employment to 12%.

Additionally, the BRS Chief announced that he would prepare ‘Shaadikhana’ for the Muslim community. The KCR-led BRS government also started 296 residential schools only for Muslims, forcing the government to spend Rs 12,000 crore separately on the Muslim community which forms 13% of the state’s population. 

The BRS government came up with a scheme called ‘Shaadi Mubarak’ for Muslim girls. Under the scheme, Muslim girls were given financial assistance for marriage. He had also made a poll promise to develop the old Hyderabad on the lines of Turkey’s capital Istanbul. 

Despite that, before the state assembly elections, Jamaat-e-Islami state president Hamid Mohammad Khan had stated that they had no reason to continue supporting BRS. He accused the party of supporting anti-Muslim bills in Parliament.

For those unversed, KCR’s party BRS was absent from voting during the passage of the Triple Talaq bill in Parliament. At the same time, former state president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, Hafiz Peer Sabbir Ahmed had also accused BRS of breaking the promise to Muslims on the issue of 12% reservation for the community. 

It has become clear that BRS will not be given entry into the I.N.D.I. alliance which will further weaken its chances in the Lok Sabha elections, as the fight for Muslim votes will only intensify from here on. The preference of the Muslim voters seems to be apparent that they want to strengthen the Congress party before the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha elections so that it can put up a fight against the BJP.

Muslims constitute 13% of the population in Telangana. Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ had also traversed through the Muslim-dominated areas in Telangana to woo them. 

Congress made a special strategy to woo Muslim voters

Despite major poll promises from BRS and schemes benefitting the community, KCR-led BRS was not the first preference for Muslims while their alliance partner AIMIM managed to win 7 out of 9 seats. 

It is pertinent to note that while KCR was engrossed in Muslim appeasement, Congress also made special efforts to woo Muslim voters. Notably, Karnataka Housing and Minority Welfare Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan was deployed to court Muslim voters in Telangana. He stayed in Telangana for 28 days and held one meeting after the other with Muslim community leaders, thinkers, and Muslim leaders of the party.

He also held several rallies in Muslim-dominated areas. In 49 seats, he made a lot of efforts to polarise the Muslims in favor of the Congress party. He discussed strategies with Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal and was also in constant touch with the party’s national president Mallikarjun Kharge. 

Under this strategy, many leaders from BRS and AIMIM were also roped into the Congress party. Apart from Karnataka Minister Ahmed Khan, many other Muslim leaders from Karnataka were also deployed in Telangana to boost Congress’ prospects among the Muslim community.

These are the reasons why Congress secured the majority of Muslim votes in almost every district of Telangana, except Greater Hyderabad. Owaisi did not field any candidate from Goshamahal in Hyderabad, from where firebrand Hindu leader Raja Singh has been winning. Whereas in the Jubilee Hills area, AIMIM fielded their candidate against Congress’ contender Azharuddin, even though their alliance partner BRS had also given a candidate in this constituency. As a result, Congress suffered a defeat in this constituency. However, Congress had publicised it in such a way that Muslim votes were being deliberately divided.

This backdrop indicates that Asaduddin Owaisi somehow saved his stronghold of Hyderabad but could not transfer Muslim votes to his alliance partner KCR in the rest of Telangana. 

According to Karnataka Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan, apart from the guarantee schemes of Congress, the process of making election strategy in collaboration with ‘Muslim think tank’ for 49 seats was successful. He also attributed the victory to meetings with Muslim community leaders.

The founder of ‘Jan Ki Baat’, Pradeep Bhandari also believes that the voters from the Muslim community went towards Congress to strengthen it. Notably, he had made an accurate assessment of Telangana in the assembly elections. The assessment of ‘Jan Ki Baat’ said that Congress may get 48-64 seats in the state while BRS will get between 40-55 seats, and BJP’s seats would be around 13. His assessment was accurate and BRS got only 1 seat less than his assessment.

‘Whoever is strong against Modi, Muslim votes will be mobilised against him’: Pradeep Bhandari

OpIndia spoke to Pradeep Bhandari about the voting behaviour of the Muslim community in Telangana. He said that the main objective of Muslim votes is to stop BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and for that their first priority is always the Congress party. He asserted that whenever Muslim voters see that Congress can become stronger, they shift in that direction. He pointed out that after the formation of the Congress government in Karnataka, the party tried to create an environment that Narendra Modi could be defeated in 2024.

Pradeep Bhandari believes that due to this reason, Muslim voters felt that ‘their Congress’ was fighting the elections very well, so in such a situation most of the Muslim voters shifted from BRS to Congress. 

Referring to Rajasthan, he said that when Kanhaiya Lal Teli was murdered by Islamic fundamentalists raising ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ slogans, there was a delay in the compensation given to the family, whereas in Jaipur, when a Muslim youth died in an interpersonal dispute, the Collector paid Rs. 50 lakhs overnight. Therefore, Muslims know that their first priority is Congress and that is why they want to do ‘ghar wapsi’.

For those unversed, when these incidents unfolded in Rajasthan, there was a Congress party government under the leadership of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Referring to the demographic data, Jan ki Baat founder Bhandari said that where Muslim voters are more, i.e. around 30%, BJP has won in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. 

He noted that earlier Congress used to think that in the seats where there are more Muslims, it would win the elections by only talking about them, but now this is not happening. Now people are uniting against appeasement.

During this, Pradeep Bhandari also mentioned the remarks made by Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, in which he had likened Sanatan Dharma with dengue-malaria and called for eradicating it. 

Bhandari explained that the Congress party deliberately did not condemn this statement because of which it had to suffer the consequences. He told OpIndia that BJP won 35 seats in Madhya Pradesh where the Muslim community is dominant. Similarly, the majority of the 12 such seats in Chhattisgarh also went to BJP’s account.

Pradeep Bhandari added that the Muslim vote will not only rally behind Congress but if it sees that Mamata Banerjee’s TMC is strong in West Bengal, then it will rally behind it. Whereas Congress is strong in Telangana, this vote was gathered behind it. Pradeep Bhandari added that one more thing worth noting in this is that after the results of Hindi Heartland, there has been frustration among the Muslim voters that even after trying their best, they are not able to stop Narendra Modi.

Pradeep Bhandari further said, “Muslim voters will rally behind every party which according to them can defeat Narendra Modi in 2024. Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal or Congress Party in South India, but they will rally behind DMK in Tamil Nadu. They will not go after Congress in Bengal and Bihar.” That is, they clearly believe that Congress will be the first choice of Muslims, but where regional powers are fighting strongly against the BJP, these voters will go with them.

Liberals spread misinformation as BJP MLA Balmukund Acharya talks about closing illegal meat shops, accuse him of ‘targeting Muslims’: Here is the truth

राहुल पाण्डेय
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Liberals spread misinformation as BJP MLA Balmukund Acharya talks about closing illegal meat shops, accuse him of ‘targeting Muslims’: Here is the truth

Newly-elected BJP MLA from Jaipur’s Hawa Mahal, Balmukund Acharya immediately got into action following his victory. A video of the BJP MLA went viral on 4th December where the priest-turned-politician can be seen ordering a government official to shut down illegal non-veg shops in the Chandi Ki Taksal area in Jaipur.

The MLA can be heard telling the official on call, “Kindly shut down all illegal non-veg shops running on the roads in the Chandi Ki Taksal area. Check their license. I will take a report from you in the evening, will you send me the report or should I come to collect it? Can non-veg be sold in the road in the open? Do you support them? Non-veg stalls on the road should not be seen anymore with immediate effect. I will take a report from you in the evening, I will not see who the official is.”

No sooner did Balmukund Acharya received praise from netizens supporting his action, the mainstream media and left liberals alike began to manufacture a narrative showing the MLA in bad light.

Responding to News18, the BJP MLA said that he did not go to the area to shut down non-veg shops but to shut down illegal slaughterhouses being run on the roads and non-veg being cooked on the roads illegally. “Ask them for the license. Many of them are Bangladeshis and not from here, investigate them,” he said.

Balmukund added that he has received complaints of “white meat that is cow meat being sold”. “We have received complaints that they are selling white meat meaning cow meat. Fourth, they are encroaching on the roads.”

Balmukund Acharya said that there are only 117 licenses and more than 1500 slaughterhouses are being run. The BJP MLA did not mince his words when he said that such shops and practices have hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus while such shops have also become health hazards.

He said, “This city is Apra Kashi, not Karachi. We will now allow such situations to build here. This is a hub of tourists and pictures of Jaipur go around the world, they have finished tourism here too.” In another video, the BJP MLA is seen speaking to a cop while asking them to inquire a shop owner about his license.

The MLA can be seen asking all meat shop owners in the area to show their license as a huge crowd of supportings followed him. Meanwhile, the police has sought from him a time of two days to take action.

In another video, the MLA can be heard saying that he will not let any Rohingya or illegal Bangladeshi live in Jaipur. He was also heard asking an official to check the license of a hotel named ‘Afghani Darbar’.

OpIndia Hindi spoke to Tahir, the owner of the hotel. This hotel selling chicken meat is at Subhash Chowk in Jaipur. While talking to our team, Tahir confessed that he currently does not have a valid license to run a hotel. Tahir said that he has applied for the license. The owner of ‘Afghan Darbar’ also told us that MLA Balmukund did not assault him in any way as was being alleged by some.

The prompt action by saffron-clad Balmukund Acharya has hurt not only illegal meat shop owners but also left liberal Islamists. Even as the BJP MLA multiple times said that he is after illegally-run meat shops, certain mainstream media and Islamists began to mislead.

RJ Sayema took to X, formerly Twitter, calling the action by the BJP MLA as “moral policing”. A self-proclaimed research group on X, called “Hindutva Watch”, alleged that the MLA along with his “far-right supporters targeted Muslim-owned restaurants”.

President of Indian Youth Congress, Srinivas BV in a sarcastic post wrote, “This is Modi’s guarantee. Rajasthan has chosen him.”

A so-called political commentator on X named Harun Khan went to the extent of alleging that “Balmukund Acharya abused and threatened Muslims for closing the meat shop”.

India Today too shared the news on X saying that the BJP MLA ordered the shutting down of “all meat shops” in the area.

Another Islamist named Md Asif Khan, on X, falsely alleged that Muslim-owned non-veg hotels were being targeted.

Wasim Akram Tyagi shared a video of the BJP MLA inspecting the illegal meat shops and alleged that the leader was targeting and abusing Muslims. However, the video shows that it was not the BJP MLA but someone from the crowd who had hurled abuses.

Moreover, speaking about a case of temple destruction in the city, the BJP MLA said that he will work towards the restoration of all temples. The BJP MLA won from the Hawal Mahal seat in Jaipur defeating Congress candidate RR Tiwari.

‘They have to be prepared for many more meltdowns ahead’: PM Modi shares video detailing Congress and liberal meltdown over BJP victory in 3 states

OpIndia Staff
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‘They have to be prepared for many more meltdowns ahead’: PM Modi shares video detailing Congress and liberal meltdown over BJP victory in 3 states

On Tuesday (5th December), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the Congress ecosystem for peddling the divide ‘North Vs South’ agenda after the BJP won elections in three States of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

While sharing a video of journalist Shiv Aroor, PM Modi remarked, “May they be happy with their arrogance, lies, pessimism and ignorance but beware of their divisive agenda.”

“An old habit of 70 years can’t go so easily,” he took potshots at the Congress party. PM Modi emphasised, “Also, such is the wisdom of the people that they have to be prepared for many more meltdowns ahead.”

On Monday (4th December), journalist Shiv Aroor posted a 4-minute-long video, chronicling the tweets of the Congress ecosystem targeted at North Indians.

He pointed out the dehumanising terms used by the cabal of Congress-friendly political commentators for voters in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Shiv Aroor highlighted how the anti-Modi brigade has been demonising the electorates instead of revisiting their political strategy and furthering the divide in society.

Lies, falsehoods, and blatant propaganda: Bloomberg article by Ruth Pollard is a symphony of seething and coping after BJP’s electoral victory in 3 states

Sanghamitra
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Lies, falsehoods, and blatant propaganda: Bloomberg article by Ruth Pollard is a symphony of seething and coping after BJP’s electoral victory in 3 states

The rise of the political force that is the Bharatiya Janata Party under Modi’s leadership has been providing employment opportunities to a lot of columnists and Left-liberal propagandists around the world for nearly a decade now. An entire cabal of Left-liberal ‘analysts’, self-proclaimed ‘intellectuals’ and columnists keep themselves gainfully employed by writing doom and gloom pieces against India, its so-called downfall to an imaginary abyss of misery because that is what their Leftist ecosystem, and Western paymasters love to read.

The whole system works like the fanbase of a fantasy universe. The doom and gloom never come. Modi keeps winning election after election, India prospers faster and faster and keeps rising as a major global power, contrary to everything that the Leftists have been predicting (wrongly) for nearly a decade. But there is just no course correction. The higher-ups pay for fantasy pieces hating on Modi, so the columnists of the bottom keep producing the lies, again and again. The ecosystem survives on Modi hate and India hate.

The latest in this series is another word salad of lies and falsehoods published in Bloomberg, written by Ruth Pollard. The article, titled “India’s identity is more hardline Hindu than ever“, doesn’t even know how to deal with the reality that Modi is set to win another term in office. In desperation, the author has jotted down some points and tried very hard to paint a picture of doom and gloom with so many lies and blatant misinformation that the result is a pathetic rant, not even worthy of being called an opinion.

Pollard begins by noting down the BJP’s 3 key objectives. And acknowledges that 2 of them have already been achieved. She adds that BJP came to power with 3 major promises:

  • Removing Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir (which she misleadingly calls ‘special status’ of Kashmir, India’s only Muslim majority state)
  • Building Ram Mandir at Ram Janmabhoomi (which she falsely claims was a Muslim mosque)
  • Bringing a Uniform Civil Code (which she claims will be unfair to Muslims and other minorities. No reason, just “trust me bro”)

Here is how Pollard has lied through her teeth in this article. What is surprising is that publications like Bloomberg do not even engage a minimal editorial scrutiny or basic fact checks before publishing utter nonsense.

Ruth Pollard’s article in Bloomberg

Pollard claims that Jammu and Kashmir, India’s only ‘Muslim majority state’ was “forcibly brought under the control of the federal government in 2019”. Pollard has tried to create the idea that Jammu and Kashmir was somehow NOT a part of India and under India’s territorial and administrative sovereignty, just because it was ‘Muslim majority’.

The abrogation of Article 370 that allowed Jammu and Kashmir to TEMPORARILY have its own laws and penal code was legal, constitutional, and was done in the democratically elected Parliament, by the power vested on the government by the people of India. It was supported by a majority vote of the Members of Parliament, which includes representatives from the region and has been upheld by all Indian laws.

Whatever made Ruth Pollard believe that India cannot give the residents of Jammu and Kashmir the same rights that are enjoyed by all other Indians, is certainly derived from similar-level trash op-eds by her fellow Left propagandists and not rooted in an actual understanding of Indian laws and constitutional process.

Lies about the UCC and Ram Janmabhoomi

The Bloomberg columnist peddles utter lies on the Uniform Civil Code next. She insinuates, out of nothing, just her imagination, that the Uniform Civil Code, which by its very definition means a single, uniform code for all Indian citizens, will be unfair to Muslims. She then peddles total lies to justify that conjecture, that Modi will somehow sneak in loopholes that would allow Hindus to carry on their “worst practices”, like the dowry system and allowing only sons to inherit property while taking away the right of polygamy from Muslims.

Bloomberg’s article peddles falsehoods on UCC

Anyone with an iota of understanding of Indian laws will know that Hindus of the country are the only community who do not get any special rights to carry on with their existing social ills. All Hindu women are entitled to inherit property, by Indian law. The practice of dowry, which is not limited to Hindus alone, is a punishable crime under Article 498A which has been called ‘too strict’ and to some extent even ‘unfair’ because of the amount of power it gives to women. However, Hindus are prohibited from practicing polygamy, unlike Muslims, and unlike Muslims, Hindu families cannot deprive their daughters of property rights.

The columnist claims that the Ram Mandir is being built by the Modi government after ‘Hindu extremists’ tore down a 16th-century mosque, and the riots that followed, caused ‘mostly Muslims’ to die. The blatant lie has been told so smoothly that for clueless readers, who are obviously the target audience of the Bloomberg article, it would appear that the cruel Hindus of India demolished a holy Islamic site and forcibly are building a temple over it.

She does not bother to mention that the site was ‘Ram Janmabhoomi’, the birthplace of Lord Ram, where a temple existed for centuries before Islamic rulers demolished it. It does not mention that the Hindus, despite their population majority and political power, waited patiently and fought a legal battle for several decades to claim ownership of the site. It does not even mention the thousands of Hindus who were gunned down by state police of ‘secular governments’ for trying to protest against the desecration of their sacred land. It also does not mention that the Muslims were given an alternate site to build their mosque, which they accepted.

More coping and seething, because India is not being bullied by the US, Australia, and Japan

The next cycle of frustration of the author is displayed through a geopolitical point of view. She is angry at the USA, Japan, and Australia for not bullying India. She is also irritated at the fact that India, despite having the ‘Hindu’ Modi in power, is considered an important Quad ally by these nations for their desire to counter China.

Like many Left liberal columnists, Pollard forgets that the partners of the Indo-Pacific Quad are not doing a favor on India by ‘allowing’ to be in the Quad. India is the only nation in the Quad which has fought battles with China in recent years. India is the only nation among Quad partners that shares a land border with China, 3500 km of land border, no less. And the fact that the “Indo” in the Indo-Pacific is the Indian Ocean Region, where India has a massive coastline and is the dominant maritime power, not to mention one of the strongest naval forces in the world.

Someone should ask these columnists how exactly they plan to exclude India from the Indian Ocean Region. That ocean is called the “Indian” ocean for a reason after all.

The article concludes with some hard swallowed cope. It admits reluctantly that India is the fastest-growing economic power and investors are increasingly looking to put money in India rather than China. It acknowledges that Modi is set to win another term in office, and the sadness in tone is palpable when the author writes “Modi is a force to be reckoned with”, to finish her article. Well, she got that correct, at least.

Congress brought together Christian pastors from different Churches to support the party in Telangana: Rajdeep Sardesai

OpIndia Staff
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Congress brought together Christian pastors from different Churches to support the party in Telangana: Rajdeep Sardesai

A day after the Congress party won the elections in the State of Telangana, ‘journalist’ Rajdeep Sardesai revealed how the grand-old party mobilised Christian pastors to garner votes from the Christian vote bank.

In a video published on his YouTube channel on Monday (4th December), Sardesai informed that Congress sought the help of political strategist Sunil Kanugolu to win the Telangana elections.

“Let me tell you Sunil Kanugolu was also put in charge of Madhya Pradesh but Kamal Nath had a some kind of a fight with him…Sunil’s role was limited in Madhya Pradesh. On the other hand, in Telangana, he was given a free hand and that enabled the Congress to plot its strategy,” he informed.

Rajdeep Sardesai emphasised, “To give you one example, there is barely a 1.5 to 2% Christian vote in Telangana. But Sunil Kanugulo was able to bring together Christian pastors from different Churches and the need (to vote) to support the Congress in this election.”

While heaping praise on Congress’ political strategist, the controversial ‘journalist’ inadvertently revealed the grand-old party’s attempt at appeasement politics and consolidating the minority vote bank.

It must be mentioned that Sunil Kanugolu was also the architect of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY). During the luxurious foot pilgrimage, the Congress scion met Christian hate preacher George Ponnaiah.

“He (Jesus Christ) is a real God, revealed as a human person. Not like Sakthi and all,” the latter claimed. Rahul Gandhi, who otherwise claims to be a janeu dhari Brahmin, remained a mute spectator to the direct insinuation by the Christian pastor that the Hindu deities are unreal and imaginary.

As such, it comes as no surprise that the Congress roped in Christian pastors in Telangana with the help of Sunil Kanugolito to rally support from the Christian community.

Uttar Pradesh: Asgar Ali arrested after shootout for raping minor in Ambedkar Nagar

ANI
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Uttar Pradesh: Asgar Ali arrested after shootout for raping minor in Ambedkar Nagar

A man has been arrested for allegedly raping a minor in Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkar Nagar, police said on Tuesday. According to officials, the accused was arrested after a late-night gunfight on Monday night.

The accused, identified as Asgar Ali, a resident of Adhiyara police station, was injured in the exchange of fire and is currently undergoing treatment at the District Hospital Ambedkar Nagar, they said. Asgar Ali had been on the run since an FIR is filed against him on December 3rd, 2023, based on a complaint alleging the rape of a minor girl in the village of Adhiriya.

Acting on a tip-off, the police team spotted the suspect near Mirpur Bhatta around 10:20 PM on Monday. When police tried to stop him, Asgar Ali opened fire on the police, injuring one officer. In self-defence, the police retaliated, injuring the accused in the leg.

“When the police team laid siege, the suspect went near Mirpur Bhatta and started firing at the police team to kill the personnel. After a policeman got injured during the firing, the police team retaliated in self-defence, in which the accused got injured by a bullet in his leg and fell on the spot. Who was taken into police custody by the police team,” said an official.

During interrogation, Asgar Ali confessed to his crime and a 315 bore pistol with one live and one empty cartridge was recovered from his possession.The injured accused and the police were sent to District Hospital Ambedkar Nagar for first aid and other legal proceedings are underway. 

UP Police files FIR against Kafeel Khan and others for conspiracy to cause riots and hurting religious sentiments

OpIndia Staff
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UP Police files FIR against Kafeel Khan and others for conspiracy to cause riots and hurting religious sentiments

On 1st December, Uttar Pradesh Police registered an FIR against Dr Kafeel Khan and five unknown persons for allegedly conspiring to cause riots in the state. The FIR was filed in response to the complaint of one Manish Shukla, who overheard a conversation about the conspiracy.

The FIR was registered at Krishnanagar Police Station of South Lucknow Commissionerate under Sections 153B, 143, 465, 467, 471, 504, 505, 298, 295, 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 and Sections 3 and 12 of the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867.

As per the complaint, Shukla overheard four to five people using derogatory language against the state government’s ministers and senior officials. While speaking on the phone, they planned to create chaos and overthrow the government. The complainant, being vigilant, carefully observed what they were saying.

Shukla said that those people talked about a book by Dr Kafeel Khan that was being covertly distributed throughout the state. The aim was to collect funds to fulfill the agenda to topple the government. According to the unknown accused, Khan disclosed the so-called ‘truth’ about the deaths of children at Gorakhpur Medical College in the book. They actively engaged in discreet conversation about distributing the book to as many people as possible, especially before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, to create unrest against the government. Shukla added that the accused expressed strong anti-government sentiments and were willing to resort to violence if needed.

The complainant said he got concerned about the potential consequences of their actions and called a couple of colleagues to confront them. When they arrived, the complainant approached the accused, who fled upon seeing them. The complainant and his colleagues did not pursue them to avoid violent confrontation. However, as they ran away, a copy of the alleged book fell, which the complainant picked up.

Upon inspection, Shukla found that the book contained the account of the Gorakhpur Medical College Hospital tragedy that took place on 10th August 2017, where several children lost their lives due to lack of oxygen. The details were based on Khan’s perspective and projected as if it was a conspiracy to defame him.

The book’s content accused the government of plotting against Kafeel Khan and tarnishing his image. In his complaint, Shukla emphasised the need for a thorough investigation into the matter and the potential threat posed by the accused with anti-government sentiments.

Interestingly, Shukla mentioned in his complaint that the author’s and publisher’s names were not mentioned on the copy he found. Recently, Khan published a book titled “The Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy: A Doctor’s Memoir of a Deadly Medical Crisis” about the same incident. Based on Shukla’s complaint, the facts of the matter raise the question of whether there is another book “secretly” released in the backdrop of a well-marketed propaganda book by Khan that aims at creating unrest in the state given the upcoming General Elections.

Dr Kafeel Khan and the controversies around him

Dr Kafeel Khan was suspended from his government job after allegations of medical negligence were levelled against him in 2017 after 72 infants had died in BRD medical college in Gorakhpur due to lack of oxygen supply. He was arrested on that charge. Two years later, after a probe by UP police, the charges of negligence and corruption were dropped, but he was still charged with running a private practice and two other accusations. He was released in 2018 after spending 9 months in jail, and he still continues to be suspended from his job.

In January 2020, he was arrested for his speech at Aligarh Muslim University on December 10, 2019, during anti-CAA protests. Kafeel Khan had made some inflammatory remarks in his speech delivered during the anti-CAA protests in Aligarh Muslim University. He had allegedly remarked against Home Minister Amit Shah that he was a murderer whose clothes were tarnished with blood. He also said that the CAA made Muslims second-class citizens. He alleged that the students in the RSS-run schools are taught that people with beards are terrorists and that with the CAA, the government has told us that India was not our country. Khan had urged people to fight for their existence. He was later booked under the National Security Act.

Kafeel Khan had also contested MLC elections on Samajwadi Party ticket, which he lost.

Any machine with a chip can be hacked: Congress leader Digvijaya Singh peddles ‘EVM hack’ theory after BJP wins 3 State elections

OpIndia Staff
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Any machine with a chip can be hacked: Congress leader Digvijaya Singh peddles ‘EVM hack’ theory after BJP wins 3 State elections

Two days after BJP won the assembly elections in the States of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Digvijaya Singh resorted to peddling conspiracy theories surrounding the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM).

In a tweet on Tuesday (5th December), the veteran Congress leader claimed, “Any machine with a chip can be hacked. I have opposed voting by EVM since 2003.”

“Can we allow our Indian Democracy to be controlled by Professional hackers! This is the fundamental question which all political parties have to address to,” he further alleged.

Screengrab of the tweet by Digvijaya Singh

He then made a heartfelt appeal to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Supreme Court to defend Indian democracy. While Digvijaya Singh was disseminating the ‘EVM hack theory’, he conveniently forgot that his party won the Telangana assembly election that was conducted through EVM.

The claims made by the veteran Congress leader were debunked by the ECI in a press release in April 2017. Rajat Moona, a member of technical expert panel on EVMs, had also reiterated in 2018 that the Electronic Voting Machines cannot be rigged.

The Election Commission of India had even organised a ‘hackathon’ for EVM conspiracy theorists but none showed up for the event. After the dismal performance of the Congress in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Digvijaya Singh has decided to blame the EVMs instead of course correction.

Sanjay Raut casts aspersions on EVMs 

On Monday (4th December), Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut courted controversy by casting aspersions on the integrity of the Electronic Voting Machines.

While speaking to ANI, the Shiv Sena UBT (Udhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader claimed, “The public mandate in Telangana is different from that of 3 other States…The BJP has won big this year. We welcome the mandate even though EVM delivered it.”

“We always say that and people too have their suspicions – How is this result even possible, especially in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh? We say that if people have doubts (about the results), then, you must resolve them. Conduct one election on the ballot paper. Just one and resolve the public’s doubts.,” Raut brazened out.

“We demand one election on the ballot paper, whether Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha. After that, there will be no scope for people to question EVM,” he claimed, knowing well India’s history of misuse of ballot papers during elections.

Sanjay Raut however did not explain how its ally, Congress, managed to win in Telangana using the same Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

ISRO brings back Chandrayan-3 propulsion module to Earth’s orbit from the lunar orbit, demonstrating capability for future sample return missions

ANI
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ISRO brings back Chandrayan-3 propulsion module to Earth’s orbit from the lunar orbit, demonstrating capability for future sample return missions

 The Propulsion Module (PM) of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, which was initially intended for lunar operations, was successfully returned to Earth’s orbit by ISRO after exceeding its lunar mission objectives, demonstrating India’s ability to not only launch objects to the Moon but also bring them back.

Following the lunar hop by Vikram (lander), this was another accomplishment that shows that ISRO can restart engines on the moon and operate equipment, both of which were not foreseen, the national space agency stated in a release.

“In another unique experiment, like the hop experiment on the Vikram Lander, the Propulsion Module (PM) of Chandrayaan-3 was moved from an orbit around the Moon to an orbit around Earth,” the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) stated in its official release.

The primary objective of the Chandrayaan-3, the country’s first successful lunar landing mission, was to demonstrate a soft landing near the lunar south polar region and perform experiments using the instruments onboard the lander ‘Vikram’ and rover ‘Pragyaan’.

The spacecraft was launched on July 14, 2023, on board the LVM3-M4 vehicle from SDSC, SHAR.

On August 23, Vikram Lander made its historic touchdown on the Moon and subsequently, the Pragyan rover was deployed to survey the uncharted lunar south pole.

The scientific instruments in the lander and rover were operated continuously for 1 lunar day as per the defined mission life, the ISRO stated in its release, adding that the mission objectives of Chandrayaa-3 have been completely met.

‘With regard to the Propulsion Module, the main objective was to ferry the Lander module from GTO to the final lunar polar circular orbit and separate the Lander. Subsequent to separation, spectro-polarimetry of the HABITABLE Planet Earth (SHAPE) payload in the PM was also operated,” the agency informed further.

The initial plan was to operate this payload for about three months during the mission life of PM. The precise orbit injection by LVM3 and optimal earth and lunar burn maneuvers resulted in the availability of over 100 kg of fuel in the PM after over one month of operations in the lunar orbit, it added.

It was decided to use the available fuel in the PM to derive additional information for future lunar missions and demonstrate the mission operation strategies for a sample return mission, it stated, adding that to continue the SHAPE payload for Earth observation, it was decided to re-orbit the PM to a suitable Earth orbit.

This mission plan was worked out considering collision avoidance, such as preventing the PM from crashing on the Moon’s surface or entering the Earth’s GEO belt at 36,000 km and orbiting below that, the ISRO stated, adding that considering the estimated fuel availability and the safety of GEO spacecraft, the optimal Earth return trajectory was designed for October 2023.

“The first manoeuvre was performed on October 9, 2023, to raise the apolune altitude to 5112 km from 150 km, thus increasing the period of orbit from 2.1 hrs to 7.2 hrs. Later, considering the estimatae of available propellant, the second manoeuvre plan was revised to target an Earth orbit of 1.8 lakh x 3.8 lakh km,” the agency added.

The trans-earth injection (TEI) manoeuvre was performed on October 13, 2023. In the post-TEI maneuver realised orbit, the propulsion module made four moon fly-bys before departing Moon SOI on November 10, it added.

Currently, the propulsion module is orbiting Earth and crossed its first perigee on November 22nd with an altitude of 1.54 lakhs km. The orbit period is nearly 13 days with a 27-degree inclination, the ISRO informed.

The perigee and apogee altitude vary during its trajectory and the predicted minimum perigee altitude is 1.15 lakhs km. Hence, as per the current orbit prediction, there are no threats of close approach with any operational Earth-orbiting satellites, it added.

As per plan, the SHAPE payload is being operated whenever Earth is in its field of view. Also, a special operation of the SHAPE payload was carried out on October 28, 2023, during a solar eclipse, the agency informed, adding the Shape payload operations will continue further.

“UR Rao Satellite Centre/ISRO’s flight dynamics team has developed an analysis tool from first principles for this operation, which is being validated through the return maneuvers carried out for the Chandrayaan-3 PM,” it added.

“The main outcomes of the return maneuvers carried out on CH3 PM related to future missions include the planning and execution of a trajectory and maneuvers to return from the Moon to Earth, the development of a software module to plan such a maneuver and its preliminary validation,” it stated further.

It also includes the planning and execution of a gravity-assisted flyby across a planet or celestial body and avoiding the uncontrolled crashing of the PM on the moon’s surface at the end of its life, thus meeting the requirements of no debris creation, the agency informed.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Infighting brewing in Telangana Congress for CM spot, leaders against the potential appointment of Revanth Reddy: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Infighting brewing in Telangana Congress for CM spot, leaders against the potential appointment of Revanth Reddy: Report

An open revolt is reportedly taking place against the potential selection of Revanth Reddy as the next Chief Minister of Telangana from within the state unit of the Congress party. As per reports, the swearing-in ceremony for the new Telangana CM has likely been postponed from 4th December, as there are reports of infighting within the party’s state unit after it secured a victory in the Telangana state assembly election. After the Congress’ legislative party meeting failed to build a consensus, the decision for the next Chief Minister was left to Party President Mallikarjun Kharge.

As per reports, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, DK Shivakumar, who is the observer for Telangana, is en route to the National Capital as sources indicate that a few leaders like Uttam Reddy and Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka are not willing to concede. They reportedly don’t want to occupy a subordinate role by letting Congress appoint Revanth Reddy as the Chief Minister. 

Notably, Congress secured 64 seats in the recently concluded state assembly elections, crossing the halfway mark of 60 seats on its own. On the other hand, the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) which was in power for a decade, only won 39 seats.

As per media reports citing sources, Anumula Revanth Reddy is the front-runner to become the new Chief Minister of Telangana. However, his potential deputy Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, and others are unwilling to concede and take the position of his subordinate, as per reports.

Meanwhile, the supporters of Telangana Congress President Revanth Reddy have been staging a protest in front of the Raj Bhawan in Hyderabad. The protesters are demanding that their leader should be appointed as the Chief Minister. 

Incidentally, similar reports of infighting over the Chief Minister’s post were also witnessed in Karnataka between the camps of Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar and CM Siddaramaiah before their appointment earlier this year.

According to Republic Kannada, the party leadership had appointed Shivakumar as the observer for Telangana and he was still camped in Hyderabad despite the start of the winter assembly session in Belgavi today.

Republic Kannada, citing sources, reported that Shivakumar was scheduled to catch a charter flight to New Delhi at around 8 pm. This comes amid reports that the Congress party is in a hurry as it fears its winning candidates could be poached ahead of the swearing-in ceremony.
Before the announcement of election results on 3rd December, Shivakumar claimed that former CM KCR approached some of his candidates. He had said, “We know that they are trying to trap us. Our candidates have informed us that they have been approached by CM (KCR) himself, so we have the information.” However, BRS leader Dasoju Sravan rejected his claims and called it ‘stupid.’

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